Kids and Candy

There used to be a time when I’d have trouble getting to sleep because I was so worked up over the ride planned for the next day. That was back during my newbie phase – where every ride was an adventure and just like a kid at Christmas, the next day couldn’t come fast enough. Over time, that excitable boy I once knew fell prey to routine, and while riding bikes still is something I look forward to with a passion, fewer rides these days offer up a genuine sniff of serious excitement anymore.

And so it was that last Saturday I found myself fettling with my bike and getting my gear ready – all while there was still sun in the sky. The plan called for a rendezvous with our good friend Johnny Ribeye—the notorious BlogginGoggin—for a major gathering of serious talent at Annadel park in Santa Rosa. We were riding together to celebrate his making it to the halfway mark of an epic adventure consisting of doing a major ride on a bike every day for a year.

On Sunday I met up with Chris at sparrowfart and we rolled north as a feeble sun tried to poke gauzy holes through the fog. Bypassing Sonoma, we arrived at Annadel in record time and awaited the arrival of the Marin posse—and the top-shelf talent that guaranteed this would more than likely be a hammer-fest. Alas, for better or worse (we voted for the former!) the only two other entities to show were John and his friend Gita, her on Moab-friendly tires which generated much friendly ribbing.

We set out as the temps hung in the frisky low 40’s and quickly stopped shivering as we rode up towards the higher parts of this drop-dead gorgeous park. Thick green moss covered the boulders and logs and the ground was wet and fragrant from the recent downpours. When we hit the delicious singletrack we rode up through thick primal forest to the exposed rocky meadows above, plunged through icy chocolate-milk-colored puddles and laughed as the newbie from Colorado marveled at the various consistencies of mud.

Two and a half hours of serious grin-inducing riding later we dropped back to our cars, and as is always the case, a minor wave of disappointment set in as our ride came to a close. But of this I’m absolutely certain: it won’t be long before I head back for another dose of the good stuff across the Bay. The aftereffects from Annadel are already starting to wear off…